essentÊrving°03

I N T R O D l C T I O N

A novice sometimes embarks on an ovcr-imbitious project which takes far longer rhan it >uid have done if he had left it umil he had marÄ™ experience. The result is often either a â–  :ched job or frustration, or borh. By first ntiendy developing skill on simpler tasks he

-    uld havc madc scvcral other carvings as well as "is one in the same rime. Absrracc sculpturc also

~c:s pitfalls. One may succeed by beginner s luck :    rhis is unusual and unlikcly to last. It is easy

make an abstract, but very difficult to make a £ -:d one. This book contains advice on r dzacion of natura! and man-rnade objects, ~ ing how abstract sculptures may be inspired

*    mem, as well as on making purely abstract shapes.

•    iach modern teaching of art rejects the copying â–  earlier work as a practice likely to stifle sclf-

' r 'ćssion and original crcativity. It also appears to . _rprove of the learning of techniques siÅ„ce, in ~: past, they sometimes became ends in

-    emsekes and madÄ™ for sterilework. There is ir-ir. in this, but it is equally true that, siÅ„ce what

•    now cali art began, man has continually ;::ome design and technical problems. I believe

roiły, if not arrogance, to dismiss what our -.: ccessors discovered. Technique, too, is like

-    raage. Without a language which is spoken and

-    a.rstood by others, our thoughts arc liable at

to misinterpretation, at worst to complete :. mprehension. If artists and craftspeople feel m * need to create simply for themselves it is r -.bie that the absence of technique poses no :* r em to them, but once they have decided to _ r iv rheir work to others there is an evident -~;mpr at communication. The work may . - iin different level$ of meaning, but I believc v: ihould rcach the viewcr on at leasr one level. -rre is a story attributed to Picasso that, afrer

*    â€” - mg a headmistress gushing over the primitive

*    - - :ence of her pupils’ art, hc remarked that

hc was twclve he could draw like

Michclangclo. The message here is reassuring to those who fear for the safety of their own creativirv. Simply copying what others have done is stultiÅ‚ying if not accompanied by that training of the powers of observarion and individual expression which the practice both of drawing and modelling from life and naturÄ™ and of designing givcs.

When I began to teach carving in recreational classes I quickly learnt that a good way to lose students was to start with chisel-sharpening. Unless they were committed to a long, serious course, 1 found it best to let students discover the problems and pleasures of using blunt and sharp tools first. You may wish to follow this cxamplc and skip the section in Chapter 1 on chisel-sharpening until you feel the need. It will mean morÄ™ to you then. Indeed, Chapters 1 and 2 may mean morÄ™ to you when you have read the rest. Apart from sharpening, the csscntial equipmcnt and woods are describcd where relcvant in subsequent chapters.

I do not claim that the tcchniqucs I dcscribc in this book are the only ways of doing things. The late William Wheeler used to tell how he had bcen taught by three part-timc tutors on successive days. Everv day a tutor told him how to do the work, but the foliowing day the next tutor asked him what fool had told him to tacklc his sculpture like that and then dcclared, ‘Now this is how you do it.’ Eventually he got them together and told them that as he was being taught by three fools he would listen to what each said, then do what seemed right to him. After all, the only right way to do anything is the way that works for you.

The best way to learn carving is with an intelligent and experienced carver. Nevertheless, I hope that rhis book will give serious students a sound background of carving skills and confidence in design.

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